Seatwave

About Seatwave

Seatwave operated as an online, fan-to-fan ticket marketplace headquartered in London, specializing in the secondary market for music, sporting, and cultural events. The company was founded in May 2006 by Joe Cohen, a seasoned executive in the consumer internet space with prior leadership roles at Ticketmaster and Match.com. Leveraging his experience from these major digital platforms, Cohen identified a gap in the European market for a secure secondary ticket exchange. Seatwave began online trading in February 2007, backed by an initial $3 million from Atlas Venture.

The business model centered on creating a marketplace where sellers could list tickets for live events, setting their own price, while buyers could browse and compare options. Revenue was generated by taking a percentage of the final sale price from the seller once a ticket was sold. To build trust in a market often associated with uncertainty, the company offered a 'TicketIntegrity' guarantee, which assured buyers they would receive their tickets by the event date or be provided with replacements or a full refund. This model allowed both individual fans and professional resellers to coexist on the platform, with the goal of reflecting the true market value of tickets.

Seatwave achieved significant early traction, listing over 400,000 tickets within months of its 2007 launch and securing substantial venture capital, totaling over $50 million by 2009 from investors including Fidelity Ventures, Atlas Venture, and Mangrove Capital Partners. The company expanded its reach through acquisitions, such as the mobile live music discovery app Timbre in 2014, to enhance its service offerings. In November 2014, Ticketmaster acquired the operating assets of Seatwave to extend its own resale business into more European markets. However, the secondary ticketing industry faced mounting pressure from regulatory bodies and public criticism over inflated ticket prices. In response to these challenges and a shifting market landscape, Ticketmaster announced in August 2018 its decision to shut down Seatwave. The platform officially ceased operations in October 2018, as Ticketmaster moved to integrate a new fan-to-fan exchange model on its primary website, aiming for a more transparent pricing structure.